I know Minocqua Brewing Co. in northern Wisconsin use to make a wild rice ale that was okay. Not the best brew in the world but they did it. Not sure how much rice needs to be used for a 5 gal batch but I would expect it does not take much since it has a strong taste. I think it would be more for the flavor of the rice vs using it as fermentable sugars.

You can't make beer from rice. But you can use it as an adjunct (addition).

Where do you live?

I live in Minnesota

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish

What does "ricing" entail? You go out hunting wild rice? Never heard of it.

Wild rice is technically a grass/reed that grows in some shallow lakes, and slow moving rivers. The "rice" is the seed heads that form. Basically you can rice with one person, or two. When the rice is ripe (Around here, it's usually late August, Sept.) you take a canoe out and one person pushes the canoe through the rice "reeds" and the other person has two poles that they use to pull in the rice, and then hit the reeds to make the rice fall off into the canoe. Then when you have collected the rice, it has to be processed to remove the hull from the rice. It's a lot of work for some wild rice, but it's a good way to spend some time in the great outdoors.

Perfect timing for this question, as I am doing my first ever wild rice lager this weekend! So, I've been doing some research on this. In fact, I was working on the recipe last night. I've thought about brewing a wild rice lager ever since I had James Page Boundry Waters Lager which was made with wild rice. I used to love it on a hot, sunny day. Sadly, JPB was bought out by some marketing types a few years ago and run into the ground.

Wild rice is a grass, not a really a 'rice' at all. It has to me harvested in paddies, usually in Minnesota, Michigan, northern Wisconsin and Canada. From what I've read, you have to be licensed to do that. Because of that, it is expensive to brew with. I found it on sale at a local grocery this week for $12/lb. - and I'm using 1.5 lbs. (11%) in my recipe! I'm sure it would've been cheaper getting it by mail-order, but I was too lazy and shelled out the $$$. If you can get it cheap, do it! It is dark brown in color and adds a nutty flavor. Using 10%-20% in your grain bill is recomended.